The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadramaut following the conquest of Aden by Great Britain in 1839.
Beginning with a formal treaty of protection with the Mahra Sultanate of Qishn and Socotra in 1886, Britain embarked on a slow formalisation of protection arrangements that included over thirty major treaties of protection with the last signed only in 1954. These treaties, together with a number of other minor agreements, created the Aden Protectorate that extended well east of Aden to Hadhramaut and included all of the territory that would become South Yemen except for the immediate environs and port of the colonial capital, Aden.
Aden with its harbour was the only area under full British sovereignty and, together with some offshore islands, was known as Aden Settlement (1839–1932), Aden Province (1932–1937), Aden Colony (1937–1963) and finally State of Aden (1963–1967).For administrative purposes, the protectorate was informally divided into the Eastern Protectorate and the Western Protectorate for some separation of administration.
The British left Aden in November 1967 and the territory became part of the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen).
And I think this part of the world would be in a better shape if they would have kept it under the British protection. South Yemen is a mess now.
Having said that, cool intro to this part of the planet. Tks
It was definitely interesting putting these pages together. I never fully understood the background of Aden/Yemen/South Arabia. Reminds me a lot of the changes in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe.